The Beau & the Beast

58 - Oil stains

~ Six months later ~

"Do you want a ride home?" I glanced up at Dominic as he walked into the workshop carrying two paper cups in his hands, the scent of hot coffee reaching my nose as he got closer.

I moved up from the ground to greet him with a wide smile on my lips and wiped the engine oil from my hands before receiving the mug and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "I'm almost done, if you don't mind waiting?"

He shrugged, "Sure."

I glanced at him, he felt unusually tense and looked worried. "I thought you had the evening shift today?"

He sat down on the floor, leaned against an old Volvo and sipped his coffee. "Changed shifts."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly as I stood hunched under the hood. Nico had taken on all the extra shifts at the coffeeshop lately so why did he suddenly want time off?

"Did something happen?"

He leaned his head back against the car plate and met my eyes. "Masson called."

With a sigh I slammed the hood shut and went to sit next to him. "What did he want?"

Nico's hand locked into mine before continuing, "The usual. He wondered when we're coming home, if we aren't tired of pretending to be humans and that he misses us."

"Are you?" I asked a little too quickly and my worries must have shone through.

"Tired?"

"Mmm..?"

Nico put the cup down on the cement floor and lay down with his head in my lap. "I know you need this Bel."

"That wasn't the answer to my question." I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I'm fucking tired of making caramel lattes and smiling at customers every day." He sighed.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, "I understand, but I can't leave. Not yet. The craving's still too strong and I don't know if I can handle going back." I mumbled a little too fast and was on the verge of an anxiety attack. "But you don't have to stay, go to Mass if you want." I continued and tried to sound convincing.

I felt my heart rate increase while I waited for the answer. Was it the reason he was so tense when he arrived? Did he want to leave without me? Would he leave me? How could I ask him to stay after everything he'd done for me? I couldn't help my dark thoughts, he must be tired of waiting for me while I sorted my shit out.

A pair of fingers interrupted my anxious thoughts as he reached up to touch my jaw. A thumb pressed lightly on my chin so I had to bend my neck down and meet his eyes. "I never said I wanted to go." He answered calmly.

"But?"

"No buts Bel, I'm happy when you're happy."

I took his hand in mine and kissed his palm before it slid it back down towards the coffee mug. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."He said with a smile and suddenly he sat perched in my lap with his forearms resting against my shoulders. "Did you really think I'd leave now that I've finally got you all to myself?" He grinned and gave me a quick kiss that I quickly deepened to show him how much he really meant to me.
I pressed his slender body against mine, brushed my fingers through his hair before I let them wander down to his hips. I could feel his arousal pressing against mine, and suddenly I wished we where back in our apartment, away from my colleagues judging eyes and the roughness of the cement floor.

I pulled back and laughed, "I admire your patience."

"Or I'm just an idiot." He grinned and turned to sit with his back against my chest and continued drinking his lukewarm coffee.